Former People’s National Congress (PNC) Executive James Bond and several other persons were today charged with several counts of conspiracy to defraud the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) and the Guyana Government.
The others who were charged are former NICIL Head Colvin Heath-London, businessman Eddie Doolal, and Jermaine Richmond.
The particulars of the first offence are that Heath-London, Bond and Richmond, between August 1, 2017 and November 30, 2020 conspired together and with others to defraud the NICIL and its Sole Shareholder, the Government of Guyana of property interest in land, namely the Grant of a Lease of Lands known as Plot A1, A2, A3, A4 Plantation Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara (EBD) without the necessary Board and Cabinet approval to do same and for purposes other than that of NICIL.
The other charge states that Heath-London and Bond, between, during the same period, conspired together and with others to defraud NICIL and its Sole Shareholder, the Government of Guyana of property interest in land, namely the Grant of a Lease Lands known as Plot A17, A18, A19 Plantation Peters Hall, EBD without the necessary Board and Cabinet approval to do same and for purposes other than that of NICIL.
The third charge reads that Heath-London, Bond and Doolal, conspired together and with others to defraud NICIL and its Sole Shareholder, the Government of Guyana of property interest in land, namely the Grant of a Lease of Lands known as Plot A7, A8, A20 Plantation Peters Hall, EBD without the necessary Board and Cabinet approval to do same and for purposes other than that of NICIL.
Bond was granted bail in the sum of $150,000 while the others got $100,000 bail on each charge.
The matter was scheduled to continue on April 19.
Bond was the attorney who represented three companies at the centre of the Peters Hall land investigation – Life 1 Pharms Incorporated, A-Z Pharmaceutical Medical Supplies and Equipment Inc and Arken Group – in the drafting of leases by NICIL – a probe which commenced soon after the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) came to power in August of last year.
Avalon Jagnandan, proprietor of Life 1 Pharms Incorporated, and Eddie Doolal of A-Z Pharmaceutical Medical Supplies and Equipment Inc were questioned by the Police in relation to the flipping of the lands.
Both men, in their statements to Police, implicated Bond as the person who arranged the sale of the lands. Both men have similar stories of being told by Bond to apply to NICIL for the land, after which a buyer was found by the former Member of Parliament and money paid over to him.
Meanwhile, police had issued a wanted bulletin for Richmond who they said was wanted for allegedly conspiring to defraud the state of Guyana over the last three years.
